


team spirit

by sapphirestark



Series: peter parker's work-life-balance: how to manage school, an internship, and being a superhero [3]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Awkwardness, BAMF Peter Parker, Body Image, Friendship, Gen, Humor, Not Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Compliant, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, aka cindy sees him shirtless and needs to handle that info lmao, peter parker is enhanced and it shows, technically we can ignore civil war and everything beyond that
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-01
Updated: 2020-02-01
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:47:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22515724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sapphirestark/pseuds/sapphirestark
Summary: “Ah, I remember – Ned accidentally put you down as an XL, but I figured he messed up because there’s no way that’s your size, right?” Cindy looked up at him, looking for his agreement on Ned’s obvious mistake, but Peter flushed.“Um, no. XL would be great.”Cindy met his eyes and frowned. “Peter, that’s the same size as Ned. No offense, but you’re a skinny twig. You could probably wear my size.”“I like baggier shirts. It’s a fashion statement.”
Relationships: Cindy Moon & Peter Parker, Ned Leeds & Peter Parker, Peter Parker & Academic Decathlon Team (Spider-Man: Homecoming)
Series: peter parker's work-life-balance: how to manage school, an internship, and being a superhero [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1319834
Comments: 80
Kudos: 3583





	team spirit

**Author's Note:**

> I'm pushing this into the middle of my series. Cindy makes a remark in "afternoon coffee" that he's been saying Peter was ripped af, but that people didn't believe her. Someone asked me to write the story behind it, so here it is! I hope you enjoy it and it's not too objectifying or anything. I tried to give Cindy and Peter a good friendship so she doesn't come across as super creepy haha

Peter sighed as he sorted through his backpack, deciding which books to put in his locker and which ones to take to his next classes. The day had been long already and it wasn’t even halfway over. Ned had been home sick all week and it made the days pass even slower than usual – especially lunch break seemed to last a lifetime, as MJ didn’t seem much for conversation these past days (or most days, really). It made for quite a few boredom-inducing hours. 

“Peter, I have your shirt.” If it weren’t for his spider sense, he would have jumped when the voice pulled him out of his thoughts. As it was, he merely closed his locker and turned around to find Cindy in front of him, one arm full of books and the other holding her phone. 

“What?” 

“Your shirt,” she repeated, “for decathlon. We ordered team shirts, remember?” 

Peter frowned. He only vaguely remembered that the subject had been brought up once a couple of weeks ago. “Did we decide on that already?” 

“Well, _we_ – as in, the ones who showed up to practice the last two weeks – did.” She raised her eyebrows accusingly and Peter shrank a bit under her gaze. It was true, he’d skipped twice in the last weeks – usually he tried to make it at least every two weeks, if not every week, but sometimes crime was just not obeying his regular hours. It wasn't like that was _his_ fault.

“Right. Look, I’m really sorry –“

Cindy rolled her eyes and cut him off, shaking her head in fond exasperation, as if she got used to Peter's antics and decided she was okay with them. “It’s alright. I mean, you’re still one of our strongest contenders, even if you miss practice. What I’d really like to know is why MJ just lets you off the hook like that.”

“I don’t know?” He really didn’t know, but he had a suspicion that MJ knew something was up with him, maybe even that she knew about his second identity – but so far they had some sort of unspoken agreement that none of them would address it. 

Cindy eyed him warily. “Even for one of us nerds you’re pretty weird.” 

“Uh, thanks. I guess.” Peter cleared his throat. “So, where’s my shirt?” 

“Just come by my place this afternoon, alright? Bring ten dollars. Ned signed for it in your name.” 

“Can’t you just bring it to practice tomorrow?” He’d planned to go on patrol; the weather was nice enough and criminals really seemed to have it out for crime these past weeks. 

“The practice you never show up to?” Cindy countered. “No. Also, you should be wearing it tomorrow to practice so we can take a nice group photo of us, so you need to try it on before that. And maybe give it a wash or something.” She shrugged.

Peter sighed. “Okay. Is five alright with you? I have my, um, my internship afterwards.” He rubbed his neck, hoping that Cindy wouldn’t ask too many questions about it. He definitely wouldn’t be able to come up with satisfying answers, especially not without Ned there to back him up.

“They really give you a lot of work there, huh?” Cindy studied his face critically. Peter felt like he was under a microscope and was 100% sure he looked guilty. For the hundredth time that week, he wished Ned were back at school. 

“Um, yeah. Lots to do.” 

Cindy met his eyes. “Five it is, then. See you, Peter.” She smiled and retreated. The day seemed to pass even slower after that.

At three minutes to five, Peter rang Cindy’s doorbell. She lived in a fancy apartment complex which meant that Peter had already had an awkward interaction with the building’s concierge at the front desk. He’d been to Cindy’s before; they had held extra practices there a couple of times over the last two years. She had an adorable little sister and a mum who always brought them snacks during question rounds. 

Peter heard footsteps approach and soon after, Cindy opened her door. 

“Punctual for once?” Cindy smiled, and Peter smiled back at her. “Come in. The shirts are in my room, you know where that is. I’ll just go and get myself a glass of water.” She took off towards the kitchen. 

Peter took off his shoes and walked into the third room on the left, which he remembered to be Cindy’s. She had redecorated since he’d seen her room last; her desk was bigger, though still scattered with schoolwork, and she now had a walk-in closet, half of which seemed to be occupied by folders filled with schoolwork from the past years. Cindy never threw anything out, claiming she might be able to use it one day. As far as he was aware, that day hadn't come yet.

“Alright then, let’s see.” Cindy joined him in her room and put her glass on her dresser, consulting a list in her hand, searching for Peter’s name.

“Ah, I remember – Ned accidentally put you down as an XL, but I figured he messed up because there’s no way that’s your size, right?” Cindy looked up at him, looking for his agreement on Ned’s obvious mistake, but Peter flushed. 

“Um, no. XL would be great.” 

Cindy met his eyes and frowned. “Peter, that’s the same size as Ned. No offense, but you’re a skinny twig. You could probably wear my size.”

“I like baggier shirts. It’s a fashion statement.” Sometimes he really wished he could just shut up. Cindy’s eyebrows rose, if possible, even higher than before as she looked over his outfit – jeans, a white shirt under a grey school sweater, and a torn backpack. 

“And it’s so that Ned and I can share clothes. We swap them. Often,” Peter rambled. He couldn’t remember ever swapping clothes with Ned, but Cindy didn’t have to know that. 

“I’ve never seen you in Ned’s clothes.” 

“You definitely have. I’m sure of it.” She definitely hadn’t and Peter was pretty certain that it showed on his face. 

“Well, I don’t think academic decathlon competitions are the best place for fashion statements,” she said, effectively ending the discussion. “And Ned has this exact same shirt since he’s also on the team, so I’m sure you’ll be fine. Here,” she threw him a bundle of garment, “try this on for size – I ordered you an S, that should be enough. Trust me, I took a summer class in sewing once. I practically have x-ray vision when it comes to measurements.” 

Peter wrecked his brain for an excuse – he did once fit into an S, but ever since the spider bite he’d taken to exclusively wearing oversized clothes to hide his form so no one would ask too many questions. He’d spent a whole year successfully hiding his abilities in gym, and now an afternoon at Cindy Moon’s apartment would be his downfall? That was just his luck. 

“Well? Weren't you in a hurry to get to your internship?” Cindy gestured for him to move. 

“Right – yeah. I am. Um, where can I –“

Cindy nodded towards her closet and picked up her phone when Peter crossed the room and hid behind one of her wardrobes. He shrugged off his sweater and shirt and quickly put on the decathlon shirt, which – as expected – was not only too tight, but also too short. 

He quickly pulled out his phone to text Ned. 

_ned how do I explain my abs to cindy??_

**wtf dude what are you doing with cindy half naked**

_that’s not the point_

**just tell her you work out?? idk**

“Peter? Are you alright?” Cindy’s voice sounded across the room. Peter hastily pocketed his phone and shot one last look at himself in the mirror. Maybe if he sucked in his breath it wouldn’t be quite as noticeable? But how could he speak while holding his breath?

“Peter?”

“Uh, yeah - wait, I’ll be right out!” Peter jumped over Cindy’s laundry bag and stumbled out of the closet space, desperately trying to tug down his short so it wouldn’t expose his midriff quite as much when he breathed in. Apparently he wasn't doing a particularly good job with it, if Cindy’s reaction was anything to go by - she looked up from her phone and almost dropped it when she saw him. Peter had the sudden urge to jump out of the window. As an enhanced superhero, he’d survive it, and there was the added bonus of an immediate large distance between him and this interaction, so it would be a win-win situation for everyone involved. 

The silence stretched and Peter couldn’t take it anymore. Maybe he could just not address the elephant in the room and swiftly move on to another topic. He cleared his throat. “So, do you have this in a bigger size?”

“Peter, what – what the fuck happened to you?” Cindy didn’t even attempt to hide that she was staring at his body. Okay, so they wouldn’t just not be addressing it then.

“I, um, I work out a lot,” Peter said awkwardly, automatically engaging in the nervous habit of rubbing his neck. Then he remembered that would make his shirt ride up even more, so he quickly dropped his arm. How many muscles did he usually engage just while standing up straight? His efforts to appear as unathletic as possible made him stand slightly hunched over, arms hanging by his side, in what felt like a very unflattering and unnatural stance that was also hurting his back. He fought the urge to readjust his posture. 

“I – yeah, I can see that.” Cindy seemed to decide that she was being inappropriate and shook herself out of her stupor, distracting herself with diving back into the shipping box with the rest of the available shirts to search for a bigger one.

“Um, so, I think I have an M in here somewhere, but honestly, I don’t know if even that – I mean – yeah, here’s an M.” She handed him a new shirt and reached for her glass of water to give her hands something to do. 

Peter blamed his poor judgement skills of the fact that he immediately took off his shirt, desperate to shrug off any reminder of that supremely awkward interaction of the past minutes and to get this visit over with. It was only when he heard Cindy choke on her water that he remembered he was supposed to hide what was under the shirt, not the shirt itself. He quickly put on the M-sized one, which was still tighter than his normal shirts but not as exposing as the previous one. Cindy was still coughing. 

“That’s better,” he contributed awkwardly while his teammate was collecting herself.

“Parker, I – why on _earth_ aren’t you on a sports team?” Cindy asked incredulously.

At that, Peter had to laugh. “I’m on _our_ team. I don’t really want to play football or something like that.” 

Cindy shook her head, a smile finally making its way onto her face. “Coach Wilson would be so pissed if he knew what you’re hiding.” She grinned, and Peter couldn’t help but grin back. 

“Yeah, he would. But – please don’t tell him? I don’t want to be signed up for the track team against my will when I’m clearly already having enough trouble attending just one team,” he joked, half-serious. He’d definitely show up to track even less than to decathlon. 

“No worries, we can’t risk competition to our strongest player.” Cindy patted his arm and Peter wondered if she was offering support or feeling his biceps. Maybe both, judging from the look of appreciation on her face. 

“I promise I’ll stay with decathlon. And I’ll try to show up more often.” Peter really did mean it; it was the criminals who chose the most inconvenient times for crime. 

“Well, now that I know you’re just spending all your time in the gym, I’m not as worried about you anymore.” At Peters questioning look, she elaborated. “Flash had a theory that you miss practice because you’re part of a drug ring.” 

Peter snorted and shook his head. Busting a drug ring, maybe.

“Anyway, keep the M. It’ll subtly teach Flash some more respect for you.” Cindy winked, and Peter felt his face redden. 

“That’s not why –” 

“I know, but still. It’ll give MJ another person in crisis to draw.” 

Peter rolled his eyes, but smiled and fumbled for the ten dollars in his pocket. “Thanks, Cindy. I’ll see you tomorrow.” He handed her the money and grabbed his bag, making his way to the front door. He’d just wear the shirt home. 

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed it! Find me on tumblr: sapphirestark.tumblr.com 
> 
> Kudos and/or comments are always appreciated! :) x


End file.
